I love pho. However, I have not tried making it at home. Our local Loving Hut (an asian-style vegan chain) has the most ahamaaaazing Pho ever, they use their own fake beef and hommade broth. Literally the best I have ever ever ever had, even before I went veg.

I saw this on sale yesterday, and bought a couple:

Very excited to try it tonight. But I am a bit of a loss as to what to put in it to make it extra delicious, especially what to do with the tofu, or what to put in the broth give it some extra goodness if I find it lacking. I listed what I have below, but if you could share with me what you guys do to yours (esp the tofu!) that would be amazeballs. I can be our offical PHO thread (since I couldn't find another)

Kittee, I have had your pho recipe bookmarked for ages. I have just been too lazy to make it. I was actually going to make the AFR noodle salad, then we saw this broth on sale for .99/carton and decided to modify.

If my broth tastes kinda boring, i think I will add some of your ingredients and cook for more. Especially the star anise. I think i have a couple in my pantry.

I still really want tofu in there, but don't know what to do with it. The deep fried tofu that you can buy at asian stores would probably be best, but I don't wanna buy anything else (budget!) Or seitan, but I don't have that either. I do need some good protein with my meal however. Maybe i can just grill some and have it on the side. Floppy tofu in broth sounds kinda meh.

I have soy curls. hmmmmmm....maybe some rehydrate them in the broth? Or in a soy sauce type broth? I do love soy curls. Omni partner actually likes them too.

Oh! I didn't realize you wanted to do this out of your pantry, sorry if i didn't read more thoroughly.Depending on how much time you want to invest, I'd do one or both of these...

Soy Curls would be great in pho! Hydrate, squeeze out all liquid then saute with a little oil until just brown, then add some garlic and sriracha, cook then add a bit of soy sauce to caramelize. Depending on your spices, you could season with a little cinnamon or ginger, etc. Adding a tiny bit of agave or maple syrup at the end, will help these caramelize even more.

Tofu: I'd make some balls and add them to the pho right before serving. Mash tofu with seasoning and about 1/2 cup of any sort of flour. If you have green onions or cilantro, parsley, mint, etc. chop those up and add them too. Even mushrooms. Roll into balls, flatten slightly and bake on a well greased oven, flipping them over until really brown.

xokittee

_________________Cake Maker to the Starspakupaku"Stupid society. I'm gonna go put on bikini kill."~Susie Tofu Monster"Kittee is wise. Listen to Kittee."~Aruna--> the PPKr currently known as mumbaikar

There used to be a place near my work that had amazing veggie pho. They had both crumbled and cubed tofu in it, which gave it really great texture and helped it feel substantial enough. Not sure what exactly they did to it there, but when I recreated it at home I pan-fried cubed tofu (extra firm) in a bit of oil and chili sauce, then crumbled half of it and let it cook in the broth for a while. Then I added the remaining whole cubes right at the end and it was pretty darn close. Fry the cubes for quite a while so that they get nice and chewy, and make sure they’re not too big. Cutting it into thin-ish strips might work even better.

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

Oh! I didn't realize you wanted to do this out of your pantry, sorry if i didn't read more thoroughly.Depending on how much time you want to invest, I'd do one or both of these...

Soy Curls would be great in pho! Hydrate, squeeze out all liquid then saute with a little oil until just brown, then add some garlic and sriracha, cook then add a bit of soy sauce to caramelize. Depending on your spices, you could season with a little cinnamon or ginger, etc. Adding a tiny bit of agave or maple syrup at the end, will help these caramelize even more.

Tofu: I'd make some balls and add them to the pho right before serving. Mash tofu with seasoning and about 1/2 cup of any sort of flour. If you have green onions or cilantro, parsley, mint, etc. chop those up and add them too. Even mushrooms. Roll into balls, flatten slightly and bake on a well greased oven, flipping them over until really brown.

xokittee

Whoa! I think I want to try both of these, see which is better! I am kind of obsessed with soy curls right now.

My 2012 mission is to make a perfect (to me) pho. I will make one that both me and my omni partner can enjoy.

Pho is really, really SO EASY from scratch. I just made some the other day. I think it was Mel's recipe I use, not sure, but simple to make.This week we were low on cash so no bean sprouts or tofu. I put in half rice noodles and half wheat, and matchsticked carrot and chayote squash, and shredded up a head of nappa cabbage from the garden. Luckily I had cilantro in the garden too, because the cilantro is the one thing i can't do pho without.

See? Pine nuts in pho is super weird. He also put some ghost chillis that we grew this summer in his. Not so smart. He couldn't finish it. He phucked it up.

When I run out of the carton broth, I am definitly making my own. I know it is easy...can't be any harder than making my own stock, which I do every week! That carton for 99 cents was so convenient though.

I really want to try making my own pho soon, this thread is inspiring me. But I was wondering, for those of you that are into using the deep fried tofu from Asian stores, do you marinate it or anything, or just put it in the pho directly? I've always used it in soups directly, but the stuff I've tried in pho at restaurants tastes better somehow. Maybe just because someone else made it though...